


What we are pt 12

by AXEe



Series: What we are [12]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alien Fight Club, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, F/M, Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-20
Updated: 2017-06-23
Packaged: 2018-11-16 10:26:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 9,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11251242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AXEe/pseuds/AXEe
Summary: We all do what we must to survive.  AU of "Survivors"





	1. Corpses, Aliens, and Threesomes, Oh my!

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Here's the first chapter of Part TWELVE of What we are! (yay!), now hopefully this won't take me forever to update like Part Eleven did :=). Anyway, please enjoy and don't forget, comments mean more updates :=)
> 
> ONWARDS!!!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

My black eye casts no shadow  
Your red eye sees no blame  
Your slaps don’t stick, you kicks don’t hit  
So we remain the same

Blood sticks, sweat drips  
Break the lock if it don’t fit  
A kick in the teeth is good for some  
A kiss with a fist is better than none

\--Florence + the Machine: “Kiss With A Fist”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

“Is that yours or mine?” Alex groaned into my shoulder as my cell phone rang insistently

“Mine” I sighed

“Oh,” she groaned, burrowing her way deeper against me “we’re not on call today” she complained

“It’s not work,” I explained as I answered the call “hello?”

“ _Morning,_ ” Maggie Sawyer greeted “ _you and your gal want to see a dead body?_ ”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Homeless guy found the body this morning,” Maggie explained as Alex and I tiredly held up our badges, which proclaimed us to be Agents ‘Alex Danvers’ and ‘Ashley Inzeli’ of the FBI “no other cop will go near it” Maggie continued as she led us to an abandoned car and opened the trunk

“Oh” Alex blinked as the body was revealed

“Figured it wasn’t a Halloween costume” Maggie shrugged

“A Selvean” I recognized

“Are they aggressive?” Alex asked

“Not in the least,” I scoffed “they barely fight, they barely even argue. Very boring people”

“Well, this guy must have been the exception,” Maggie explained “he’s got months of built up scar tissue”

“And bruising on his knuckles,” Alex noted “defensive wounds”

“Nope,” Maggie shook her head “no skin under his fingernails”

“It could have been an accident,” I pointed out “we’re not that far from the bar”

“Somebody gets drunk…” Alex began

“…they and the gentleman in the trunk here get into a fight…” I continued

“…accidently kills him…” Alex continued 

“…gets scared…” I added

“…and dumps the body” Alex nodded

“O…K,” Maggie looked between us “you two have really got that ‘we’re so in tune’ thing going on”

“We do?” we both asked simultaneously

“Hey, what’s this?” Alex reached into the trunk, peeling part of the jacket the body was wearing away

“A barb?” I wondered as Alex gently wrenched it free of the body “definitely not human” I noted as she held it up to the light

“No” she agreed

“Can your boys at the super lab figure it out?” Maggie asked

“Yes, he can” I agreed

“We’ll let you know” Alex nodded as she bagged the barb and we began to walk away

“Nice seeing you” Maggie called out sarcastically after us…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Alien on alien violence?” Kara asked

“That’s what it looks like,” I answered “oh, Kara! Put the notepad away!” I swatted the notepad out of her hand “god, no reporting while we’re having lunch” I ordered

“But—”

“No!” I emphasized “n-o, n-ooo! Nyet!”

“You’re no fun anymore since you got engaged” she grumbled as she reached down and picked up the notepad

“That’s another thing,” I remembered “will you _please_ get Lucy and Winn to stop trying to plan _my_ wedding?”

“I can try, but no guarantees,” Kara grinned “hey, speaking of Lucy and Winn,” she began “I noticed that they’ve been spending an awful lot of time with my Mom lately”

I tried not to choke. Ever since Astra and I found out about Lucy and Winn both dating Alura, we agreed to keep it secret from Kara until all three of them felt comfortable enough to tell her themselves. Winn and Alura had both begged for us to keep our mouths shut (well, OK, Winn begged me and Astra, Alura begged me and then threatened Astra), and Lucy just threatened us both with bodily injury if we blabbed

That was three months ago, and apparently none of them has yet to tell Kara. Taking my time chewing, I willed my heart to slow down, kept my face blank, and said

“So? Your Mother’s allowed to have friends isn’t she?”

“I know,” Kara pouted “but, she won’t even spend any time with Aunt Astra”

“Kara, do you have a question in there somewhere or are you just whining for the hell of it?” I asked, jumping as she lightly kicked me in the shin under the table

“I just,” her face fell “I’m worried I did something, or said something that upset her”

“Oh, Kara,” I took her hand “look, I can’t explain why Alura’s been spending so much time with Lucy and Winn,” for one thing I couldn’t even explain it to myself “but,” I added “I can tell you that it isn’t because of anything that you did”

“Are you sure?” she asked

“I’m sure” I nodded, making a mental note to go scream at all three of them when I saw them next.

This is my life now apparently, Alex Danvers, relationship therapist to aliens.

Oy


	2. Hangovers and Bonds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Astra have a talk and Winn's hungover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter TWO! And away we go! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

Winn had an ice pack to his head when Astra and I got in to work the next day. I looked over at Astra, wondering what had happened, she just shrugged

“Winn?” I asked as I came over to his console

“Huh?” he sat up and put the icepack down “I’m good, not hung over” he said quickly

“Agent Schott” J’onn rumbled as he came over

“Sir, yes, sir,” Winn straightened up as best he could, still wincing “uh, haven’t found out anything out our killer, and Alura’s fine, she’s fine”

“Oh no” Astra groaned quietly

“Did, did you know that her heart has six chambers?” Winn mumbled to J’onn

“I’m sure that’s very fascinating, Mr. Schott,” J’onn nodded “however, were you aware of a report of a six foot tall alien woman who reportedly attacked two men in a bar last night?” he glanced over at Astra

“Well don’t look at me,” she objected “I was home all night”

“I can vouch for her” I nodded

“Yeah,” Winn nodded, still wincing “I wasn’t, wasn’t with her at _all_ last night”

“Interesting,” J’onn nodded “because witnesses reported that the alien woman had a five-foot-two male companion with her”

“I’m five-foot-nine!” Winn objected, cringing as he realized that he just admitted to it. He groaned “look, look, those two guys tried to get fresh with Alura,” he explained “she pushed one guy away and he fell into his buddy”

“I see,” J’onn nodded “and did his ‘buddy’ happen to be standing half way across the room?” he scowled “we got lucky last night, and since you and agent Lane seem to be taking responsibility for Alura Zor-El, let me remind you of that fact that we need to be more careful, the less people who know about her and her sister and what they can do, the better”

“He’s right, Winn,” Astra nodded “all it takes is just one alien attacking a Human and all our hard work is all for naught”

“Why do I get the feeling that we’re not talking about Alura anymore?” I wondered, Astra just smirked at me as she turned to walk away, following J’onn. I looked back over at Winn “you look like crap” I told him

“Thank you. I saw the mirror this morning” he drawled, icepack back on his head

“So what happened?” I wondered

“I don’t…really know,” he winced “uh, Alura and I went out, just, you know, out, uh…we came to this nice little bar, pub, place, and then…,” he frowned “I seem to remember binge drinking a bunch of shots of something that tasted _really, really_ good. Everything kinda just… _blurs_ after that until Alura pushed the grabby guy away”

“A word of advice,” I began “whenever you’re out with one of the twins, don’t get drunk, keep a clear head”

“Noted,” he groaned “Lucy’s not talking to me either”

“Mad at you going out and getting drunk?” I wondered

“I don’t know, I can’t tell if she’s mad I got drunk, or mad that I didn’t invite her”

“Probably both,” I nodded “she can really hold her liquor, especially against you. Five foot nine, my ass”

“I am!” he insisted

“No, you’re not,” I snorted “and you know how I know? Because Astra’s five-foot-eight, that means that you’d be taller than her, and you’re not”

“OK, fine! I’m five-foot- _five_ , happy?!” he snapped

“Yep,” I gave him a pat on the shoulder “drink lots of water, that’ll help” I advised

“Thanks” he mumbled as I hurried after Astra, who was still hurrying after J’onn. He turned as he saw me following her

“Is there something I can help you both with?” he asked

“Is there something you’d care to tell us?” Astra countered

“I’m fine” J’onn dismissed

“Bull,” Astra declared “I know you went to see M’gann M’orzz this morning,” she explained “care to tell us about it?”

J’onn scowled at us, before finally nodding towards his office, which I know he almost never uses. It’s basically small box with a desk and a chair

“So, you’ve been following me I take it?” J’onn asked as the door shut behind us

“No, not actively,” Astra answered “just out of concern”

“For whom?” I asked

“For both of them,” Astra told us, she turned to J’onn “hate me all you want, J’onn J’onzz, but I still consider you my kin” she told him. He sighed

“I think I made a mistake,” he finally said “when I met with her today, I…,” he chuckled humorlessly “I offered to join with her, in the Martian way”

“That seems…a little extreme” I commented

“It’s a telepathic link, Alex,” he explained, thankfully leaving the ‘idiot’ out “it’s how we communicated on Mars,” he explained “sharing thoughts, emotions, hiding nothing from each other, no secrets. Can you imagine a world like that?” he asked “a world without…fear, or hate, or lies? A world where you know that you’re never truly alone?”

“It sounds beautiful” I breathed

“It was,” he nodded as he turned to face us “I’m grateful to you and Kara in my life, make no mistake,” he began “but…to be as I truly was meant to be…,” he trailed off with a sigh “do you know what’s like to be around Humans all the time?” he asked “you all…hide, you throw up walls, shield your inner thoughts even from yourselves, you’re all so afraid of what others might think of you,” he smirked “and you?” he gestured to Astra “you might as well be a statue to me. All of you, you, your niece, your sister, you three are all…blank to me, empty; I can’t sense anything from you”

“I’m sorry to hear that” Astra apologized

“So what happened with M’gann?” I asked

“She…refused, ran away as soon as I offered” he sighed

“Did you try apologizing?” I suggested, he smirked

“No,” he chuckled “maybe I will” he smiled, bit more freely than he has lately as Astra tapped her comm.

“Yes, Winn?” she asked “understood,” she looked over at us “Winn has something” she announced

“We’ll catch up,” I told her, she nodded as she turned to leave, quietly slipping out the door “you know she doesn’t care,” I told J’onn once we were alone “Astra,” I explained “you could hate her for the rest your lives—however long _that_ will be—and she still wouldn’t care”

“Why not?” he asked “she’s been keeping a pretty big secret from me”

“Only because M’gann asked her to,” I explained “look, I don’t know M’gann all that well, but I do know Astra, and she’s the type to stand her friends. If M’gann asked her to keep her existence a secret then Astra would have taken that information to her grave if you hadn’t needed that blood transfusion” I explained.

He sighed

“Maybe I have been a tad…petulant lately,” he admitted “not that she’d noticed or cared,” he chuckled, he nodded “go, see what Mr. Schott has found out,” he encouraged “I’ll be fine” he promised  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“OK, so it looks like the barb we found in the body came from a Bro’vak,” Winn explained, still wincing “apparently it’s some kind of biological defense mechanism. So, that’s new and terrifying”

“Are there any in the city?” I asked

“Uh,” he looked down at his tablet, wincing “only one registered in the city since the Amnesty Act, and I’ve got an address”

I nodded at Astra

“Let’s go” I decided  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“You’re awfully quiet,” I noted as we drove towards the address Winn gave us “something on your mind?”

Astra sighed

“It’s just…,” she huffed “you’re all so afraid of us,” she said “Humans, I mean, you’re all so afraid of aliens, of anyone who’s different, who speaks a different language, worships a different god,” she shook her head “do you know how hard it was for me when I first came to this world?” she asked “how I struggled to fit in? To say the right thing? Laugh at all the right jokes?” she sighed “do you know what’s like to have to translate everything you want to say in your head before you say it?”

“No” I answered honestly

“No, you don’t,” she agreed “not even Kara knows, she came here as a child, children always adapt easier to new people and new places then adults do,” she explained “and then, on top of all that,” she began “your kind vilifies us, movies and television portray us all as either conquerors or saviors, who will solve all your problems for you so you don’t have to,” she shook her head as I pulled the car into a space on the curb “its all wrong,” she sighed “ _we’re_ the ones who are afraid of _you_. Not the other way around,” she looked down at her hands “if word about this killing gets out then…we’re screwed, Humans will just have one more reason to fear us as monsters and killers,” she sighed and looked up, straightening her shoulders “we’d better hurry,” she said, back to a general now “he’s probably still home”

“Yeah,” I mumbled as I tore my eyes away from her and looked out towards the street, spotting out target…our _suspect_ …coming out of his building “got him” I said as we climbed out of the car

“Sir?” Astra called out. The Bro’vak was tall, heavy set, like a bodybuilder or a stuntman. He turned to us, muscles in his neck tightening

“Yeah?” he grunted out, clearly not wanting to be delayed as he slung his coat over his shoulder

“Could we talk to you for a minute?” I asked as I held up my fake FBI badge

“About what?” he asked

“There was a murder a few nights ago,” Astra picked up “the victim was a Selvan” she explained. The Bro’vak looked her up and down and I suddenly wondered if he could tell that she wasn’t Human, like there was something, some kind of tell that gave away that fact, the way she said a certain word, the way she stood, something. Whatever it was, he visibly tensed, suddenly throwing out his arms, barbs bursting out through his skin

“Freeze!” I drew my gun even as he swung out at us, Astra jumping in front of me, blocking his blows as he tried to both attack us and run away at the same time. Spinning, Astra suddenly swept his legs out from under him, pinning him to the ground

“You’re under arrest!” she snarled as she held him down, while I yanked out my cuffs. There was a sudden pop and then crackle, I watched as Astra suddenly jerked. Turning I saw a man in full body armor aiming a taser at Astra, the prongs already embedded in her jacket. I raised my gun, ready to shoot, only for another goon to suddenly jump me, knocking my gun out of my hands and actually throwing an honest to god _net_ over me.

As I kicked and tore at the net, Goon One simply kicked Astra aside and he and his buddy both picked up the Bro’vak

“No! Please!” he looked back towards me and Astra, both clearly knowing what was going on—which I didn’t—and clearly terrified “DON’T LET THEM TAKE ME!!” he screamed as they hauled him to waiting van, throwing him inside and speeding off.

Finally getting out of net, I scrambled over to Astra. She coughed and groaned as she tried to sit up

“Why is nothing ever easy for us?” she groaned…


	3. Fight Club

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Enjoy

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I broke your jaw once before  
I spilled your blood upon the floor  
You broke my leg in return  
So I sit back and watch the bed burn

\--Florence + the Machine: “Kiss With a Fist”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Are we sure it wasn’t Cadmus?” J’onn asked, I shook my head

“Cadmus wouldn’t have left Astra behind,” I reminded him “but,” I sighed “whoever they are, they’re pros, full body armor and military trained, no plates on the van, and NCPD found a van matching our description abandoned on the side of the road, torched”

“Wonderful,” J’onn grumbled “don’t tell me that we have someone else besides Cadmus to contend with,” he sighed “how is your fiancée?” he asked

“She’s mad as a hornet,” I answered “apparently no one tases her and gets away with it,” I explained as my cell phone buzzed “hello?”

“ _Alex, quick,_ ” Kara said “ _how many L’s are in ‘alien’?_ ”

“One, why?”

“ _Its for my story_ ” she answered

“Story?” I asked “oh, Kara,” I groaned “please tell me that you are _not_ trying to push our case onto Cat Grant as a story?”

“ _Uh…no?_ ”

“Kara” I groaned

“ _I’m not breaking any DEO regs, Alex,_ ” she exclaimed “ _the police have already issued a statement about the body, I’m just doing my job_ ”

I looked over at J’onn, who just shrugged

“Fine,” I sighed “just…make sure you get your facts straight this time. Bye” I hung up and looked at J’onn

“I’m not even going to ask” he grumbled…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Kara**

“Kara! Wait!” James all but jumped in front of me “wait,” he held up a hand “now, who are you going to say is your source?”

“Uh…” I suddenly blanked

“Uh-huh,” he nodded “OK,” he sighed “now, how do you know that this is ‘alien-on-alien’ violence? It could be a Human killer making it look another alien, it could even have been just an accident”

I groaned

“James…” I whined

“Now, do you really think that Cat will publish what you have so far?” he asked gently

“I hate it when you’re right” I pouted. He laughed and pulled me into a hug

“I know, but aren’t you glad that I am right?”

“No” I grinned  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

I still wasn’t sure what to expect when Maggie Sawyer called me out of blue and told me she had a lead on our killing. I was even more confused when she gave me an address that led into the bad part of town and told me to ‘dress nice’

“Maggie” I waved as I climbed out my car and straightened my dress

“Danvers,” she nodded “hmm, you clean up good, I’m surprised Astra let you out in that little number” she commented

“Who says that she didn’t?” I chuckled “so, where are we? What this is place?”

“Well, according to one of my contacts, our victim was last seen here,” she explained, she dug into her bag “here,” she handed me a mask, one of those silly, masquerade bal-type things “dress code”

“OK,” I muttered, slipping it on as she did the same and nodded towards a warehouse nearby, where I could hear what sounded like music. Quietly slipping inside we found a crowed room, all of them wore masks and were dressed nicely, the men all wore tuxedos, and the women all wore dresses. The room itself was set up like a restaurant, tables with white tablecloths were scattered throughout the room, surrounding a wide area enclosed by what looked like a cage of some sort “what is this place?” I asked as we slid through the crowd 

“According to my contact, some kind of underground club for National City’s rich,” Maggie answered, she nodded to her left “I see a city councilman and the head of a bank”

“I see…,” I blinked “is that the mayor’s daughter?”

“Yeah, that’s her” Maggie confirmed

“Lifestyles of the rich and shameless” I muttered. But as I looked around the room, I noticed that, although the furnishing and trappings all _looked_ rich, if you looked closer they were actually cheap knockoffs, the champagne flute that a waiter handed me as we sat down was obviously cheap plastic, it was like somebody just bought a bunch of rich-looking things from Party City to impress their friends

“Oh, it’s starting” someone said as the guests all found a place to sit. There was a deep thump, and the lights dimmed, leaving a single spotlight shining on what looked like a runway set up leading from the back of the room down towards the enclosed area in the middle of the room

“They came from the stars,” a woman’s voice began over a speaker system “crossing thousands of light-years,” a figure began to walk down the runway as actual sparklers kicked off on either side, like some kind of cheap magic show in Vegas “did they come to conquer?” the voice asked rhetorically “no,” now I could see that our host was a woman in a long red dress, with what looked like a tattoo of either a snake or a dragon winding down her leg “did they come to save us?” she asked as she reached the end of the catwalk, two muscle-bound pretty boys each taking one of her hands and lifting her up and down onto the floor “neither,” she continued, she paused for dramatic effect, and I could see that she had the crowd hanging to her every word “no,” she began “they came…to entertain”

The crowd burst into wild applause, some actually hooting as she slinked past them towards the enclosed area

“Ladies and gentlemen, for your amusement, there are no rules in my cage tonight,” she tuned to face the crowd “two enter, but only one leaves the winner”

“Oh my god” I hissed as I realized what this place was

“Shit,” Maggie spat, clearly thinking the same thing I was “it’s a fight club”

“Yeah, except its aliens on display,” I snarled “fighting like animals in a cage all so some rich snobs can get their rocks off”

“Three o’clock” Maggie nudged me. Turning, I could see figures in full body armor began to enter the crowd and walk between the tables, clearly not there for show

“Great” I grumbled as our host began speaking again

“First up,” she began “our former champion, Bro’vak!” there was a cheer from the crowd as a door opened and our missing Bro’vak was literally thrown out into the ring. He scrabbled to his feet and tensed, clearly waiting for his opponent “and his opponent,” the woman swept her hand to the other side in a wide gesture “one of the last of her kind, survivor of a dead world, daughter of a red star,” a shiver went through me “Lady Krypton!”

“What the hell?” Maggie hissed as another door opened and a woman confidently marched out, shifting into a fighting stance, before suddenly charging at the Bro’vak as soon as a buzzer sounded. She slammed into him at nearly full speed, sending him flying back to crash against the side of the cage, which was apparently electrified.

Struggling to stand, the Bro’vak unleashed his barbs and lunged, but she dodged at superspeed, easily flinging him back into the cage, this time when he hit the metal he didn’t get back up, but just lay there, twitching.

The crowd _roared_ with approval as two guards came out and summarily dragged the Bro’vak out by his legs

“It seems we have a winner,” our host announced, clearly disappointed at how short the match was “our next contender, Dreega”

I bit my lip hard enough to bleed as I stopped myself from shouting out a warning as something big and angry suddenly slammed into the remaining fighter, knocking her across the ring. The new fighter was at least seven feet tall and was covered with sharp, bony protrusions, there didn’t appear to be a soft spot on him as he loomed over her

“ _I’ve never killed a Kryptonian before_ ” he/she rasped

“We need backup” Maggie hissed

“Hey” a voice suddenly grunted behind us

“Got it” I snarled as I spun and delivered a quick jab to the guard’s throat. While he choked and gagged, Maggie quickly yanked his gun free and fired three shots into the ceiling

“POLICE!!!” she bellowed out. The crowd instantly panicked, rushing towards the exits, while the woman in red calmly slipped out a back way “I got her!” Maggie called out as she took off after her. Slipping the gun I’d hidden under my dress out, I aimed at the fence and fired, cringing at the shower of sparks as the power gave out. Wincing, I wreched the gate open and rushed into the ring, swinging my gun up and aimed at Dreega

“ _Humans are no fun to fight_ ” he/she rasped, simply turning and walking away. Ignoring him for the moment, I rushed to his fallen opponent

“Are you all right?!” I demanded “Alura! Answer me!”

"What are you doing here?" she demanded with a groan

"I could ask you the same thing," I muttered "come on, let's get you out of here"


	4. Everybody's A Winner

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello, chapter four of Part Twelve of What we are! :=) Enjoy!

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

You hit me once, I hit you back  
You gave a kick, I gave a slap  
You broke a plate over my head  
Then I set fire to our bed

\--Florence + the Machine: “Kiss With A Fist”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Aliens fighting each other for Human entertainment,” J’onn growled as we watched Alura rest on the sunbed, a stunned looking Kara, Lucy, and Winn with us “we’d heard rumors about this, but we never knew that they were true”

“Well, they are” I told him

“Who’s the ringleader?” he demanded

“I don’t know,” I admitted “she’s rich obviously; rich enough to organize these fights and get away with it. Then you add in the fact that, despite the Amnesty Act, most aliens still hide…”

“…and she’s found herself a ready-made population of fighters for her _cage matches_ ” J’onn sneered as Alura sat up with a pained groan. She slowly looked between us, taking note of Kara’s stunned and hurt expression, and Lucy and Winn’s matching expressions of confusion and disbelief.

I looked over as Astra suddenly marched in and right up to Alura, I was excepting her to start shouting, even to slap Alura. But she didn’t, instead she simply stood there

“How much did they pay you?” she hissed

“I don’t do this for something like _money_ , sister” Alura sneered, looking disgusted that Astra would think of her as a capitalist

“Then why do it?” Astra asked

“I don’t answer to you, General” Alura scoffed

“Name,” she demanded as Alura staggered to her feet “tell me her name!”

“Why?” Alura demanded

“So that we can stop this, this… _insanity_ ”

“Perhaps I don’t wish to stop” Alura countered

“Damn it, Alura! We are the last!” Astra spat “we have a responsibility---”

“No! All you want to do is remember!” Alura countered “I don’t! Krypton is _gone,_ Astra! Deal with it!”

You could have heard a pin drop in the stunned silence that followed

“’Deal with it’?” Astra spluttered “deal with it?!” she demanded “we lost _EVERYTHING!_ Our world! Our home! Our blood bond! And now you’re telling me to, to, to, to ‘deal with it’?!!” she suddenly drew back a fist and soundly decked Alura across the jaw before spinning on her heel and storming out…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

“Astra!” I charged out after her, leaving Kara and the others to deal with Alura

“There’s nothing you can say to me right now, Alex,” she said “so, please, don’t even try”

“I know why she’s doing this,” I called out, she stopped, slowly turning to face me “she’s not doing it for money; she’s doing it for a sense of belonging. You said it yourself, aliens are vilified here on Earth, most Humans are afraid of them, and so aliens hide, they huddle together in fear. And then, all of a sudden, here’s this woman, she’s not afraid, and she uses words like ‘champion’ and ‘winner’, she has hordes of her rich friends all howling for more. She makes them feel special, feel like they belong, like they _matter_. Like how you said I made you feel when you first showed up on my couch that night”

Astra sagged against the wall sighing as I slowly approached her

“I’m supposed to protect her!” she growled even as the tears ran down her cheeks “ever since I was a child! I was always, _always_ told by our mothers to look after her! She’s my responsibility!”

“I know, I know,” I soothed “but you said it yourself about Kara, she’s not a child anymore,” I reminded her “and besides, the real bad guy here is that tattooed bitch who runs the fights”

“Tattoo?” Astra asked, looking up “she has a tattoo?”

“Yeah, this long, kind of serpent—”

“…winding down her body,” Astra finished “Roulette” she hissed

“You know her?” I asked

“I’ve heard of her,” she nodded “I just didn’t make the connection until you mentioned the tattoo,” she explained “from what I heard, she offers off-worlders ‘opportunities’, I guess we all know exactly what those opportunities are now, don’t we?” she straightened up, pushing herself off the wall “stay with Alura, make sure she doesn’t leave,” she instructed “I’m going to go talk to some who might know Roulette personally…”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

M’gann looked up from the dumpster outside the bar as I approached

“Astra,” she smiled “nice to see you here. Is everything all right?”

“Roulette” I said simply, she froze, then sighed

“You don’t want to get involved with her, Astra” she warned

“It’s little too late for that,” I growled “what did you say to Alura?” I demanded “I know that she’s been coming here quite frequently, so what did you tell her? Did you offer her money? Did you offer her fame and fortune?”

“I didn’t force your sister to go”

“No, you just didn’t stop her,” I sneered as I approached “you are going to tell me everything you know about her and these fights”

“Or what?” she demanded “you’ll torture me?” she scoffed “you’re not that kind of person”

“No, I’m not,” I agreed “and I wouldn’t torture you, just expose you for what you really are”

She froze, a look of genuine fear crossing her Human features

“You wouldn’t,” she hissed “you swore!”

“That was before I found out that you’d convinced my sister to debase herself like an animal for the entertainment of the rich!” I spat “now, tell me who—” I broke off as a painful burning suddenly tore through me. Choking for breath, I struggled to reach the taser in my back, only for my legs to give out. I fell to the ground as M’gann stared at me, shocked

“That was uncalled for!” she snarled as a woman in a red dress and bearing a long serpentine tattoo approached us

“I beg to differ,” she purred as she loomed over me “two Kryptonians? Twins no less?” she grinned “now, we have a championship match…”


	5. This is Our Fight Song

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Double update! Enjoy :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Well love sticks, sweat drips  
Break the lock if it don’t fit  
A kick in the teeth is good for some  
A kiss with a fist is better than

\--Florence + the Machine: “Kiss With A Fist”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

I sat up with a groan, finding myself in a fairly large cage of sorts. An armed guard turned at my groans. He smirked

“Better get your strength back soon, hon,” he commented “you’re up next” he warned…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Kara**

“OK, Roulette,” Winn pulled up a file on the screens “real name ‘Veronica Sinclair’, this is all Interpol has on her”

“That’s…not much,” I realized “that’s all they have?” I asked

“That’s it,” J’onn sighed “most of it is just rumor, and since aliens don’t always have the same rights as Humans do depending on where they live, a lot of these fights aren’t really illegal. Let’s face it, Kara, a lot of people feel more sympathy towards a dog than to an alien”

“Great” I sighed

“We’ve got a problem,” Alex announced as she came in “Astra hasn’t checked in”

“Are you sure?” I asked, she nodded

“She always checks in. _Always_ , its practically a compulsion with her,” she explained “she said that she was going to talk to someone about these fights, someone who might know this ‘Roulette’ personally”

“Mr. Schott,” J’onn barked “pull up Agent In-ze’s subdermal tracker” he ordered

“OK…uh, problem,” Winn called out “uh, I’m not getting a signal from her tracker”

“That doesn’t mean anything,” Alex sighed “they have a limited range, a heavy jacket can actually block the signal,” she frowned “what about her cell phone?”

“Uh, got it!” Winn pointed at the screen’s “her phone’s pinging at…huh, the alien bar”

“M’gann” J’onn and Alex both snarled

“All right, Kara,” Alex began “go to this address,” she wrote down an address on a scrap of paper “its where the last fight was held, they’re probably not there anymore, but check anyway, meanwhile J’onn and I will go talk to M’gann”

“Got it,” I nodded “I’ll go tell Lucy”

“You don’t have to,” we tuned as Lucy stumbled into the room, holding her head “Alura’s gone,” she announced “she got a phone call, then cold cocked me and bolted,” she explained as we helped her into a chair “I’m fine, I’m fine” she waved our hands away

“I can’t believe that my mother would do something like this” I shook my head

“If this Roulette person has your aunt, then that means that she has leverage,” J’onn pointed out “she could be using Astra as a bargaining chip to get your mother back into the ring”

“Or trying to get them to fight each other,” Winn snarled as he examined Lucy’s head “I don’t about you guys, but I’m betting a bunch of those rich assholes would pay top dollar to see a Kryptonian cat fight. Especially if they’re twins”

“Let’s go” I snarled…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

I stood up with some difficulty as the ringmaster, Roulette herself stood before her adoring legions

“Tonight we have a championship match,” she declared as the crowd hollered and bayed for blood as my cage swung open, and I took it as my cue to exit, marching out into a wide open area, as another cage opposite mine opened, Alura stepping out “two daughters of Krypton, each fighting for the title of sole victor,” Roulette continued “Kryptonian versus Kryptonian, sister versus sister, in a fight to the death” 

The crowd roared with approval as Alura turned to Roulette, clearly shocked and horrified

“I won’t kill her” she declared.

Roulette turned, smiling confidently

“Yes you will” she said as a buzzer sounded and the crowd began to cheer as Alura and I circled each other

“I’m not going to hurt you” she said

“It’s a little too late for that, don’t you think?” I challenged, I wasn’t angry with her, I was disappointed, disappointed in her for stooping to this, for thinking that she was worth so little, that her life was nothing more than something bet on by rich Humans with nothing better to do

“FIGHT! FIGHT!! FIGHT!” the crowd began to chant when we did nothing but continued to circle each other

“I’m not going to fight you, Astra” she insisted

“Fine,” I shrugged “then I will!” the crowd cheered as I rushed her, knocking her into a wall…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“M’gann!” I called out as J’onn and I climbed out of the car. She stopped, sighing as she dropped her bag

“Go home, Alex,” she requested “please”

“You’ve known about these fights all along, haven’t you?” J’onn demanded “haven’t you?!” he snarled

“Yes” she said simply as she turned to face us

“That was why you refused the Bond, wasn’t it?” he hissed “because you were afraid of what I’d find out”

“J’onn,” she shook her head “you don’t understand” she pleaded

“M’gann, they have Astra,” I said “I don’t give a flying fuck about what your reasons are, all I want is her back”

“I don’t where they’re held,” she shook her head “they change location every time”

“You know, I expected this kind of behavior from a White Martian,” J’onn hissed “but not from one of my own people!” he stopped suddenly, a look of such utter betrayal crossing his face “show me your true face” he suddenly ordered

“J’onn…” she began to back away from him

“Show me your true from!” he ordered, he scowled “that guard,” he hissed “the White Martian who showed you mercy, she didn’t exist, did she?” he hissed “did she?!”

“J’onn, you don’t understand,” she pleaded “that guard was me!” she exclaimed

“What?” I hissed as I looked between them

“You gave me your blood!” J’onn spat in disgust “that _fifth_ is in me now!”

“I couldn’t do it anymore!” M’gann exclaimed, virtually at the point of tears “I couldn’t stand it for another second! The screams! The way the prisoners begged! I couldn’t!”

“You _are_ a White Martian!” J’onn accused. With a roar she suddenly knocked him away, shifting into a White Martian as she did…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

I grunted as I dodged Alura’s next blow. She fought like a brawler, like Kal-El did, relying more on brute strength than actual technique. But I had the advantage, not only did I have more experience in using my powers, but I was a soldier, I was trained to fight.

I ducked, wrapping my arms around her waist and taking to the air, slamming us both against the ceiling before simply dropping to the ground, where we shattered the concrete in a massive tangle of limbs

All while the crowd cheered us on…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“ _ **I was peace until you came along!!!!**_ ” M’gann declared as she loomed over me. There was a whoosh as J’onn suddenly landed front of me in his true form, delivering an vicious uppercut to her jaw “ _ **GO AWAY!!**_ ” she demanded “ _ **LEAVE ME ALONE!!**_ ”

“ _ **This is vengeance for the life of every Green Martian that your kind slaughtered!!**_ ” J’onn declared as he slammed into her

“ _Alex! We’ve got a problem!_ ” Kara suddenly called over my comm.

“You’re going to have to be a little more specific, Kara!” I called back as I ducked behind the car, watching the strange running brawl going on around me

“ _You were right, the fight club’s been cleared out,_ ” Kara explained “ _it’s like it never happened_ ”

“Well, we expected that” I panted out, cringing as M’gann swung J’onn into a wall

“ _How are things at your end?_ ” Kara asked

“Uh…,” I blinked as I watched J’onn take off into the air after a fleeing M’gann, grabbing her leg and dragging her back down “I’m…going to say it’s not going well,” I managed as M’gann slammed into the concrete, J’onn leaping on top of her and beginning to pummel her “I’m out of ideas, Kara” I admitted

“ _I’m not,_ ” I could hear her grin “ _I know someone who might be able to help_ ”

“Hurry” I pleaded as M’gann gained the upper hand in the fight…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

**Astra**

“You don’t get it do you?” I asked as Alura pinned me to the floor “I’m not the enemy”

“I never said you were” she replied sadly

“You still don’t get it,” I shook my head “you don’t fight for money, you fight for the same reason that I once fought against Kara, you fight because you think that you _deserve_ it, that this is your penance for surviving,” I shook my head “I told you once, there is no shame in surviving, there is no shame in having lived. No one is asking you to ‘be’ anything special, not me, not Kara, not Lucy or Winn, no one is asking you be this great pillar of Kryptonian virtues or ideals. All they want, all anyone wants from you is…you”

“Me?” she echoed

“You,” I repeated, as I reached out and tapped her chest, over her heart “all they want, all _we_ want, is your love. We ask for nothing in return, just that your give yourself to us, freely, without worry, without fear, without regret, that you let us love you as I know how you love us”

Slowly, she released me, slowly standing up and offering her hand, which I took without hesitation. Slowly, confidently, with that same confidence, that same conviction that she welded in the Citadel in Krypton, that she used during my own trial, Alura turned to face Roulette and said one, simple, two-letter word

“No”

“Well now,” Roulette purred “it’s seems that there’s been a change in the line up,” she grinned “sisters, meet your opponent…Dreega”

There was a crash as a third cage opened with a rather showy pyrotechnic display and its occupant marched out, towering seven feet tall as he loomed over us

“Oh crap” I sighed as he swung back an arm…


	6. The Pen is Mighter Than the Sword

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Triple update! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Kara**

“Ms. Grant!” I landed on Cat’s balcony at CatCo a little too hard. Ms. Grant raised an eyebrow and slowly stood up and walked over, frowning down at the cracks in the concrete under my feet

“That’s coming out of your pay,” she declared “now, what can I help you with, Ker-iah?” she asked

“My aunt is missing,” I explained “we think that she’s been kidnapped by someone named…’Veronica Sinclair’.”

“Calls herself ‘Roulette’?” Ms. Grant asked “has a tattoo?” she nodded “I know her, used to go to school with her actually. Never liked her,” she ducked back into her office and quickly wrote something down on a piece of paper “I also know about her idea of ‘entertainment’,” she handed me the paper “go, save your aunt” she told me

“Thank you” I sighed

“You’re welcome,” she smirked “and who knows, your aunt’s statement might make a good story” she chuckled as I took off…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

I grunted as I tumbled across the floor, Alura quickly tumbling after me

“We need to find a weak spot” I panted out as Dreega approached us

“He doesn’t _have_ any weak spots!”

“Everyone does,” I replied as I studied his gait “his leg,” I realized “he favors his left” I x-rayed through his leg, finding a misfiring nerve cluster in his right knee

“I see it,” Alura nodded, she glanced over at me somewhat shyly “together?” she asked

“Together” I agreed. We surged to our feet, Alura lunging for his head, as he pivoted to counter her expected blow, I ducked down, sliding across the floor and firmly planted my heel into his knee. There was a loud _pop_ as the join bent _sideways_. Dreega suddenly shrieked in agony, his eyes bulging from his head.

As he choked and gagged for air, Alura slammed her clenched hands down on top of his head, sending him spinning down towards the floor, where he lay, groaning and whimpering, clutching his injured leg whimpering like an infant

We both looked up at a crash as Kara suddenly burst down through the ceiling, landing besides us. She gasped in relief as she saw us

“Are you OK?!” she asked

“Fine” we both answered as there was a sudden explosion

“EVERYONE STAY WHERE YOU ARE THIS IS A RAID!!!!” Lucy’s voice bellowed out as a full DEO tactical team burst into the room, swiftly corralling Roulette’s audience, most of whom began to bluster about how they’d sue the government for false arrest, Roulette herself quickly disappearing down a side exit

I glanced over at Alura, who nodded

“Supergirl, handle the other fighters, we’ll take her” I ordered as we took off after her, easily cornering her in what looked like a loading dock

“Hey!” a dozen or so other fighters swiftly blocked our path, surrounding her protectively

“You see,” she declared “they know who treats them well”

“You all stand with her?” Alura asked, her voice clear and proud, fighting the way she always did, the way she should, with words and passion “we are _not_ the enemy,” she pleaded “neither are the Humans, but people like her, like Cadmus, they seek to exploit us, to use us. We all came to this world fleeing disaster, fleeing war, famine, disease, even genocide,” she looked each of Roulette’s bodyguards in the eye, one by one “yes, we are hated, yes, we are feared, but the true enemy, the true villain here, is ourselves,” I could see the shock of her statement ripple through them like a wave

“We wallow in self-pity,” she continued “in our grief, so concerned with our own anguish that we forget, we ignore what is right here, a home. Yes it is hard to be on this world, it will always be hard, and yes, at times, we must fight, but we must fight not for…money, not for fame, or glory, but our own _dignity_. We must show the Humans that we are _not_ monsters, that we are not to be feared, and we must do so with words, with conviction. Not with violence”

Slowly, one by one, each of Roulette’s fighters stepped aside

“So, it seems I underestimated you” Roulette commented as Lucy gently brushed past us with Maggie both swiftly arrested her

“You’re under arrest” Maggie declared

“For what?” Roulette chuckled

“Let’s start with operating without a liquor license for one,” Maggie grinned, she gave Roulette a shove “move”

“You guys OK?” Lucy asked as she approached us

“We’re all right Lucy” Alura answered, avoiding her gaze

“Good,” Lucy nodded “Astra, you better get over to alien bar,” she instructed “Alex says that there’s something going on over there but she won’t say what”

“Right” I nodded, even as I got a sinking feeling in my gut…


	7. Survival Tactics

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quadruple update! Enjoy! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We get down, down, down  
We feel sorry for ourselves  
We get down, down, down  
We all need somebody’s help  
Let’s get loud, loud, loud till there’s love and nothing else  
‘Cause the more you give that more that comes back around

\--Rachel Platten: “Overwhelmed”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

I cringed as the last explosion of dust, harder than before. Most of the alley had been pulverized by the brawl between J’onn and M’gann. Peering past the car, I saw that J’onn had her pinned, his hands around her throat, even as she shifted into her human

“ _ **Show me your true face!**_ ” he demanded “ _ **I want to look my family’s killer in the eyes!**_ ”

There was a sudden blast of heat vision, and he jerked away from M’gann

“ENOUGH!!” a familiar voice bellowed. I looked up, breathing a sigh of relief as Astra landed besides me, I’d known that Kara and Lucy found her and Alura safe and sound, but it felt much better actually _seeing_ Astra in the flesh with my own eyes “are you all right” she asked me, I nodded

“Yeah,” I nodded “had a helluva show, though”

“I’ll bet,” she muttered as she approached the two Martians “stand down, both of you,” she ordered “there’s been more than enough blood shed today”

“You knew about this?!” J’onn demanded, gesturing to M’gann as he shifted back into Hank Henshaw

“I did” Astra nodded

“And you gave me her blood?!” he seethed

“Would you rather I let you die?” Astra countered

“I would have rather you told me that one of these butchers is here on Earth!” he snarled

“Will killing her bring your family back?” Astra asked “your people?” she shook her head “no, it won’t, all it will do is make you just like the other White Martians”

“I am not letting this thing live!” he roared “it’s a threat to us all!”

“Funny,” Astra chuckled “you once said the same thing about me,” she turned to face him, putting herself between him and M’gann “haven’t I changed since we last met in battle?” she asked “haven’t you?” she challenged “if you do this, if you kill her, you will be killing yourself”

“Their kind doesn’t change” he hissed, Astra shook her head and stepped aside as M’gann suddenly shifted into a Green Martian “don’t mock me!” he spat out as she fell to her knees and lifted her head, baring her throat to him “show me your true face!” he ordered

“That is her true face,” Astra told him “we all do what we must to survive. She becomes a Green Martian, not out of cruelty, not out of malice, but because she can’t stand looking at her own reflection everyday, because she can’t stand what looking at her own face reminds her of, the screams of the dying, the smell of burning flesh, the way your own people congratulate you on a job well done even as the blood dries on your hands,” she took a breath “so go ahead, kill her, I won’t stop you”

I watched as J’onn slowly turned to look at M’gann, before he finally snarled in disgust

“Arrest her!” he barked as he stalked past us…


	8. Missing Pieces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here we are, the final chapter of Part Twelve of What we are! Enjoy! And keep an eye out for Part Thirteen! :=)

_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

I’m not calling you a liar  
Just don’t lie to me  
I’m not calling you a thief  
Just don’t steal from me  
I’m not calling you a ghost  
Just stop haunting me

\--Florence + the Machine: “I’m Not Calling You A Liar”  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Maggie,” I waved as I got out of the car “hey, got your…” I trailed off as I watched another officer led Roulette over, calmly uncuffing her “…call,” I finished, I looked over at Maggie “what’s going on?” I asked

“We have to let her go,” Maggie shrugged “orders from higher up” she explained with a scowl. Roulette smirked at me

“Oh, you know how it is,” she shrugged “having all the right friends in all the right places,” a limo pulled up to the curb, the driver getting out and opening the back door, Roulette smirked “I’ll be seeing you, ladies” she purred as she slinked over to the car and slid inside

“Should’ve planted something on her,” Maggie grumbled as the limo drove off “sometimes I hate being a good cop”

“You’re a _great_ cop, Sawyer,” I reminded her “come on, I’ll buy you a drink” I offered, she shook her head

“Nah, can’t,” she said as another car pulled up, Susan Vasquez climbing out and waving at Maggie “besides,” Maggie said as turned back to me “I don’t think Astra should be alone tonight”

“Probably not” I agreed as I remembered the whole debacle

“Night, Danvers” Maggie called as she went over the car, giving Susan a quick peek on the cheek, I waved back as I climbed back into my own car  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Astra**

“Thank you, for sparing my life” M’gann said as she sat within her accommodations at the DEO. To my left, J’onn scowled

“I didn’t spare your life to save you,” he growled “I spared your life so that you could rot within this cell for all eternity”

I sighed as I watched him stalk away, I spared M’gann a glance, I was thankful that she was still alive, but I was still outraged at how she’d led Alura into Roulette’s clutches. Turning on my heel, I marched out after J’onn

“J’onn…” I began

“Don’t” he snapped

“J’onn, stop,” I moved in front of him, blocking his path “now, listen to me,” I growled “I’m not asking you to forgive her”

“Good”

I sighed “J’onn, forgiveness isn’t something that others do for you, forgiveness is something that you do for _yourself_ ,” I explained “I’ve been where you are, when I found out that Kara was still alive, I blamed her, I blamed Alura for things that were my fault alone”

“I didn’t _slaughter_ my own people!” he spat

“No,” I agreed “but you won’t forgive yourself for surviving that slaughter. I’ve stood over that abyss before,” I explained “I’ve looked down into that darkness, I told myself that killing this person, allowing this person to die was necessary, that it was bring me peace,” I explained “I told myself that when I held that knife to your throat on that rooftop, I was fully willing to be a party to genocide, because I believed that your death would ultimately save all of humanity. I told myself that after Non strangled a guard back on Krypton, I did nothing, I just stood there, watching as the man begged for his life, and I told myself that his death was a necessary evil. I told myself that killing Non back in that desert was the only way to save Alex”

“Is there a point to all this?” he asked, scowling

“Yes,” I nodded “my point is, by forgiving M’gann, you may ultimately find your own sense of peace”

I turned and began to walk away

“That guard,” he called out “the one on Krypton, what was his name?”

“I never knew” I admitted…  
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

**Alex**

“Penny for your thoughts” I said later that night as Astra and I lay in bed together. Astra looked up, blinking

“Hmm,” she chuckled as she snuggled deeper under the blankets “I was just thinking on the nature of forgiveness”

“Sounds deep” I noted

“It is” she nodded

“So,” I began “M’gann”

“I knew what she was from the start,” Astra nodded “but I could see that she wasn’t like the others of her kind. I’ve met some White Martians before, once they exterminated the majority of the Greens they took it upon themselves to declare themselves the ‘true’ face of Mars,” she shook her head in clear disbelief “most of them are cruel, self-absorbed, and utterly convinced of their own superiority compared to others”

“But not M’gann” I guessed

“No, not her”

“You saw yourself in her didn’t you?” I guessed “that same darkness, the drive to try and…atone for your sins”

“I did, yes” she nodded

“I can’t say I’m not upset that you didn’t tell J’onn, or me, that there was a White Martian running around loose,” I began “but…I understand why you didn’t”

“Thank you, love” she whispered as she snuggled against me, just as my cell phone rang. Sighing, I reached out and answered it

“Danvers”

“ _Alura’s missing_ ” Lucy said on the other end

“What?” I sat up, turning on the light “what do you mean ‘Alura’s missing’?” behind me, Astra jerked up

“ _I mean she’s missing,_ ” Lucy repeated “ _Winn found security camera footage from outside the fight club, someone grabbed her as we were dealing with all the guests and the other fighters_ " she explained

“We’ll be there in five,” I reported. I hung up and turned to see Astra was already dressed “we’ll find her” I promised as I shrugged into my clothes

Astra didn’t looked convinced….

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger time! I'm mean I know :=)


End file.
